The rate at which Indian wrestlers are contacting the spread of the COVID-19 virus has forced the WFI [Wrestling Federation of India] to postpone the resumption of training camps until further notice for the elite men and women freestylers and Greco Roman grapplers at the Sports Authority of India [SAI] in the regional centers of Sonepat and Lucknow.

The country’s federation decision was a result of the worries raised by the wrestlers who are preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and its corresponding qualifiers. The issues highlighted by the wrestlers was that the training environment isn’t conducive enough for the camp resumption since the virus has been on the increase.

The wrestlers feared that since wrestling is a contact sport, they can’t be adequately secured from the coronavirus infection, and there is no need for camos reopening when a wrestler cant tackle its opponent during training sessions as they are more comfortable training alone indoors with a partner of their choice.

A WFI official told local reporters that their intention isn’t to endanger the lives of the wrestlers both home and abroad like most of our wrestlers are preparing have been training on their mats in their respective homes with their trusted partners which they are comfortable with.

“Hosting camps in Sonepat and Lucknow under these present situations will make wrestlers more worried. The likes of Bajrang Punia, Deepak Punia, Sushil Kumar Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik, Ravi Dahiya, have been training indoors as they also have access to gym and wrestling equipment Chhatrsal stadium with the approval of the staffs”.

Written by: Olumide Akinnifesi